Review of Author! Author! (1982) by Miranda B — 08 Nov 2013

This was a very underrated film. It had a unique storyline, great casting and was very entertaining. Al Pacino is a great actor and hit the mark in this film as a playwright, husband, and father struggling to keep it together when his wife, who has severe commitment issues, decides that she is ready to move on and leaves him as well her 4 children from previous marriages behind to start anew. Many criticized it's release in '82 for it's use of overacting kids and cheeky dialogue akin to Eight is Enough, but I think the kids were spot on. These aren't normal children who grew up in a stable environment. They had to grow up quickly, adjust, and adapt because of their mothers wacked out issues w/ being a wife or a parent. Throughout the movie the children try to warn Ivan over and over again that he is setting himself up for heart break and failure when trying to win back their mother. One of the kids said it best, "When she goes...she goes.".

The young actors portrayed these damaged and complicated characters very well. Ivan (Pacino), being orphaned as a child, knew what it was like to be abandoned and was the only one who could truly understand where these kids were coming from. He wasn't perfect (but who is) and had a lot of his own person demons he was dealing with, but no matter what was going on, his love for those kids(who weren't even his), and their love for him was unstaggering and unconditional. It was exactly what they all needed. And in the end all they really needed was each other.

"As long as I got a house, you guys got a house..." ~Ivan.